Lakers-Rockets: Who has the edge?

Kobe Bryant will see plenty of Ron Artest - and vice-versa - when the Lakers-Rockets best-of-seven series starts tonight. EUGENE GARCIA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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<b>CENTER<br>Houston's Yao Ming </b>is 7-foot-6 and figuratively must stand inordinately tall for the Rockets to win this series. Yao is a willing and adept passer with a high basketball IQ. He is so skilled he made 31 consecutive free throws in December – the fourth time in his career he has had such a run. ... AP PHOTO; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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... <b>L.A.'s Andrew Bynum</b>, 21, will need to contest Yao without fouling – something Bynum could not do in his poor Utah series. Bynum will do wonders for the Lakers if he can just handle Yao on the boards. Bynum shot just 39.1 percent from the field against the Jazz after shooting 56 percent in the regular season.<b>Edge: Rockets PHOTO BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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<b>POWER FORWARD<br>Houston's Luis Scola</b>, from Argentina, averaged 12.3 points on 62.5 percent shooting in four regular-season games against the Lakers. He has excellent touch around the rim and will get a ton of open shots if the Lakers' defensive rotations are slow. ... AP PHOTO; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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... <b>L.A.'s Pau Gasol</b>, while playing for the Spanish national team, has seen plenty of Scola. But Gasol is the NBA All-Star – and his 20-of-22 free-throw work in the regular season against Houston is a big reason the Lakers won all those games. Gasol's approach when defending Yao is basically to stand his ground with two hands up.<b>Edge: Lakers PHOTO BY KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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<b>SMALL FORWARD</br>Houston's Ron Artest </b> can have some woeful shooting games: He shot just 40.1 percent to average 17.1 points this season. He did make 39.9 percent of his 3-pointers, but he will take them at inopportune times. His aggressive defense is rooted in physicality and gambling for steals. He wears No. 96 because he thinks the numerals look like "QB" for his home town of Queensbridge, New York. ... AP PHOTO; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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... <b> L.A.'s Trevor Ariza </b> is also a special defensive talent, but it'll be interesting to see how well he handles the 260-pound load that is Artest. Ariza, 210 pounds, might need relief if Artest begins to thrive in the post. Ariza is often left open but stunned Utah by hitting 11 of 18 3-point shots last round.<b>Edge: Rockets ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER PHOTO; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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<b>SHOOTING GUARD<br></b>Ron Artest will get some turns to guard Kobe Bryant, but <b>Houston's Shane Battier </b> is Houston's preferred option because he hangs tough without fouling often. He is also a very shrewd help defender. Battier will get his feet set and hit the open 3-ball, but he's content to do stand quietly on offense (7.3 ppg). ... AP PHOTO; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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... With his first 75 points in this series, <b> L.A.'s Kobe Bryant </b> will pass Larry Bird for sixth on the all-time NBA postseason scoring chart. He closed the last playoff round with a rush, forcing Utah to switch from Ronnie Brewer to Andrei Kirilenko on Bryant in Game 5 – to no avail. Bryant averaged 28.3 points on 53 percent shooting vs. Houston in the regular season.<b>Edge: Lakers PHOTO BY KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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<b>POINT GUARD<br>Houston's Aaron Brooks </b> shot 0 for 10 on 3-point shots as a rookie last postseason, but he has stepped up since the Rockets traded Rafer Alston to Orlando on Feb. 19. The Rockets went 14-4 after the trade – with the 6-foot Brooks playing a lot like Tony Parker in finding ways to get into the lane. A liability on defense, Brooks will be asked to produce some steals with digging help on Bryant or the Lakers' bigs. ... AP PHOTO; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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... Including the last round, <b> L.A.'s Derek Fisher </b> is now shooting 42.4 percent (183 of 432) from behind the 3-point arc for his playoff career, the highest success rate in playoff history for anyone with at least 300 attempts. Fisher's experience advantage over Brooks is substantial, and the Lakers have been satisfied with how well Fisher, 34, has learned to use muscle and angles to keep younger, quicker point guards in front of him.<b>Edge: Lakers PHOTO BY KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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<b>BENCH<br>Houston: </b>Von Wafer (9.7 ppg) is the closest thing Houston has to an instant-offense replacement for injured Tracy McGrady. Wafer, a former Lakers draftee, will attack the hoop with total disregard and can get hot on 3-pointers. Unlike Wafer, Carl Landry (pictured) is a dependable, efficient interior player who plays solid defense. Backup center Dikembe Mutombo, 43 next month, tore a quad muscle last round and says his NBA career is over. ... AP PHOTO; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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... <b>Lakers: </b> The Lakers hope Lamar Odom can carry over his consistency from last round (17.8 ppg on 62.7 FG percentage, 11 rpg), although Utah is historically a great opponent for him. Odom should at least rule for rebounds against the smaller Rockets. Sasha Vujacic shot 6 for 29 (20.7 percent) last round. Luke Walton (ankle) is expected to play this series. Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar offer much more than Houston backup point guard Kyle Lowry. DJ Mbenga could get a chance to guard Yao.<b>Edge: Lakers PHOTO BY KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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<b>COACH<br>Houston's Rick Adelman </b> finished second to Cleveland's Mike Brown for NBA Coach of the Year – the fourth time Adelman has been runner-up. His teams have reached the playoffs 16 times in 18 seasons. He was hired to give Houston a refined offensive system but the Rockets' success was still dependent on getting some transition scores late in the regular season. ... AP PHOTO; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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... While in Sacramento, Adelman never could get past <b> Phil Jackson's Lakers</b>, and Jackson enters his 18th postseason as a head coach with a 48-1 record when gaining a series lead. He has more playoff victories than any coach in NBA history. He will depart from the triangle offense late in postseason games to run pick-and-rolls for Bryant.<b>Edge: Lakers KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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<b>PREDICTION<br></b>In retrospect, we now know how the Lakers were hurt in the NBA Finals by – consciously or subconsciously – being happy to be there, whereas Boston was driven from the start of the season to win the championship or bust. The Lakers are benefiting this season from that 2008 Celtics mindset – and the psychology will play a huge part in this series. The offensively challenged Rockets are going to let down after winning a playoff series for the first time since 1997. Houston doesn't have the requisite deep-seated belief that they can upset the Lakers anyway. <br> <b>Prediction:</b> Lakers, 4-1. AP PHOTO; TEXT BY KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

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